Mad World
by myloveimfaithfullyyours
Summary: A collection of one-shots that sometimes connect to each other. Each one connects with the title,you and the characters. Often times SWEENETT. They're written in different forms...and sometimes they're confusing. Some of them were put in INSANITY. REVIEW!
1. The Face of Innocence

The Face of Innocence

**Authors Note: None of it's mine. Sweeney's a little OOC. It's in Sweeney's POV. Judge may be a little OOC as well. Sweenett. **

_**Sweeney Todd's Point Of View. **_

**The Face of Innocence**

"_Innocence is beauty, a beautiful thing. Something worth holding on to, but taken away far too quickly. Innocence on the outside. Poker face of lies. Mask of sweetness. Purpose, worry, suspicion forgotten when she puts on that face of innocence."_

It all started out fairly normal. The winter night was cold, and quiet. The only warmth was coming from the little fire lit in her fire place.

I sat there for a while, playing with my razors, but then it got rather...boring. I went down stairs to see what Mrs. Lovett was doing on such a dull night.

Of course, as many women would do, she was reading a book. She obviously didn't see me, but I snuck up behind her.

I read along, but then realized it was a romance novel. I turned to walk away, but my jacket brushed against her skin, and she turned around.

Obviously, she was surprised. "Oo, Mr. T, yah scared me!" She said. I smirked, and wandered into the kitchen.

Instinctively, she followed me like a lost puppy, and asked me what in the world I was up to. She had her arms crossed, and looked at me suspiciously.

She had let her hair down, and it sailed just under her shoulders a bit. Her milky white skin almost glowing in the moonlight flowing in from the window.

She tilted her head to examine me more closely. She had no idea what I was up to...well, at the time, nor did I.

I thought we could play a game...and make it up as we go. Anways, I walked over to her and randomly wrapped my arms around her.

She didn't say anything. Kinda stiffened up, but then relaxed when I told her it'd be alright, and that I wouldn't hurt her.

Though it kinda did hurt me to think that she wouldn't trust me. Don't blame her though; I've held razors to her throat.

"Let's play...hide and seek." I whispered in her ear. "In the dark?" She asked back. "Most certainly." I responded.

She wriggled free of my touch. "Child." She giggled. "You're afraid of losing aren't you Nellie?" I shoved her lightly, but playfully.

"Child with no innocence isn't a child at all." She muttered. I started to count right then and there. I heard her run around the shop, desperately seeking a place to hide before I got to twenty.

Turns out she was not very good at hide and seek. I turned around...and she was behind me. So much for that thought.

Her pale skin sparkled in the light. I imagined Lucy's hair, but the thought was quickly replaced by the dark beauty standing in front of me.

I pulled her over to me and kissed her hard. She kissed back eagerly. See, that's when it all began. We stood there in the moonlight, planting kisses all over each other.

I reached to take off her dress, but found it too much a struggle so I just sliced it instead. The dress fell; I saw that now she was only in a little slip of a thing.

She blushed madly as I looked her up and down. "Beautiful." I muttered mostly to myself. She clearly hadn't heard, or she would blush even more and turn into a tomato.

The idea of "doing" a tomato...err...illegally crossed my mind, but that's just a detail that I found amusing. Not important what so ever.

I proceeded to kiss down her slender body. She nipped my earlobe, and found my mouth, prying apart my teeth so that she could slip in her tongue.

She wrapped her legs around me, and I let myself fall on top of her. Greedily sucking on her neck, and collar bone.

All was well--until the judge walked in. We broke apart, and I stood in front of her, twisting my head to see the bloody judge, but still keeping her exposed body invisible to him.

Basically, I made no effort to rise from this...awkward position. I saw the Judge, and where the judge was...the beadle is close behind.

He looked at us from that awkward position. "Mr. Todd, Mrs. Lovett..." He began. We both looked at him, but said nothing.

I saw his eyes trail down to her chest...it was then I realized, I had my hand there. I quickly slid it down to my side, and looked around.

"There was a friend of mine who was here last week for a pie, and went up to get a shave afterwards, his wife says that after the pie, he told her to wait outside for him..."

Mrs. Lovett shifted from under me. The judge continued, "She went to go see some flowers down the street, but when she returned, her husband wasn't there."

Mrs. Lovett and I shifted uncomfortably at the same time. I could see her thinking. I myself was unsure of what to say.

"I think he came down and walked the other direction of the flower shop. He said he'd look for his wife later." She said.

She struggled so that the Judge could see her head, and her face. I took the hand that was by my side and slipped it around her shoulders, incase the judge had any...ideas.

He clearly was not one-hundred percent convinced that what she said was true. Then I have to hand it to her, considering she thought it up so quickly and on the spot.

I watched her force a smile onto her face and brightly say, "Tell you what, if I see the gentleman come by, I'll tell him that people are looking for him."

The judge looked around. "Are you sure, positive Mrs. Lovett that something didn't happen to him here?"

The smiled turned into a grin. Oh, she looked like a little girl on Christmas I thought to myself. "Most certainly not!"

He studied her childlike face closely, before mumbling to himself softly, "I don't remember why I suspected you in the first place."

I heard her giggle. "I forgot why I came here in the first place...I highly doubt you could...or would do something like that...far too...innocent. Like Lucy." He said.

I snarled at the sound of her name. But I wanted desperately to laugh...or continue what we were doing...or both at the same time.

That face though. I couldn't help smile to myself how insane she looked. Anyhow, the judge was standing there for awhile, looking at our interesting position.

"While I'm here Mr. Todd, I know it's late, but I do not wish to run back here tomorrow. Could I get a quick shave." I smiled, "Of course." I responded.

This day had turned out better than I thought. I led the Judge upstairs, while Mrs. Lovett ran into her room.

I couldn't help but the think to myself about that face that made the judge forget why he suspected her.

Oh that face of innocence. Lucy was innocent inside and out. Nellie, innocent on the outside...devil in the inside.

But his little innocent devil. His and no one else's.


	2. Living In My Memories

A/N: It's multi chapter

**A/N: Pretty much one sided...err for this chapter. Most likely gunna be Ben/Nellie or you could consider it Sweenett... Review Please. I wrote this cuz I'm stressed on my finals. If I dun get review I'ma gets even more stressed. Thanks. It's not really put together. But it's okay in a way. Not my favorite personally, but it'll hold until the next chapter. **

**Forgetting.** Simply the worlds hardest, yet easiest things to do. Takes much more effort to forget than to remember.

But sometimes, when you're standing around thinking, something comes back to you. I creeps up on you and talks to you.

Like a voice in your head. You might not want it there. You wanna forget it, but blast the last thing it wants to do is to leave you alone.

You beg, and plead for the stupid voice to stop haunting you. It has no intentions of doing so. You give up and fall asleep. Then it haunts you in your dreams.

**Living In My Memory.**

To Mr. Todd, London was nothing more than a pit of insane people. People who didn't deserve to go on living. People who didn't deserve to roam the face of this earth.

Even so, he had to admit that London this time of year was beautiful. The snow gracefully fluttering to the ground.

Little boys running up and down the street, their wet hair plastered to their face. The sense of the upcoming holidays filling the air.

The bustling shoppers, and busy shop keepers. Not to mention busy barbers, and extremely busy pie bakers.

However, today, Mr. Todd was not busy. He was thinking. Deeply thinking. He realized Mrs. Lovett wasn't the world's smartest woman. Nor was she the dumbest.

She thought she'd get away with lying about Lucy? Sweeney Todd had been wandering up and down Fleet Street the other day, trying to clear his thoughts.

He happened to bump into a certain beggar woman. She looked up at him, but didn't recognize him. "Alms?" She asked desperately.

He looked at her carefully. No doubt that it was Lucy. "Do you remember a man named Benjamin Barker?" He asked her as gently as he could.

"Did I ever do anything for him?" She asked back. "You married him..." He responded, not really getting her point.

"Marry! Ha! I've never been married in my life!" Sweeney took step back. "You're wearing a wedding band." He said.

"Hey, I just noticed. Thank you, sir. Perhaps I'll get a couple pounds for this." She gave him a toothy smile. He saw that she was missing several teeth.

"Do you know your name?" He whispered. "Yeah. Lu--err--Lucy. Yeah that's it. Lucy." She said back nodding.

"Lucy, do you have a last name?" "Uh...I can't recall. Perhaps if you give me a shilling I will..."She flashed her crooked teeth at him again.

He sighed and handed her a shilling. "To be honest with yah sir, I don't quite remember. It was something like B...Bark...Bake...something like that."

She really didn't remember, and there was no way of getting her to remember at all. "Fine. If I give you two more shillings, will you tell me what you DO remember?" He pushed.

She seemed to be considering it for a moment. "Sure." She held out of her dirty hand to take the shillings from him.

She took a deep breath, and then began. "Let's see. My name is Lucy. This is Fleet Street. The ward that lives in Turpin's house's name is Johanna."

She took another gulp of air before going on. "Johanna looks awfully familiar. Um...there's a barbershop down the street. It's haunted."

She paused. "And?" Sweeney asked. "Shilling." He growled and handed her another. Thinking to himself that this was absolutely useless.

The snow had begun to fall faster. He hadn't gotten a word of what he wanted. And he wasn't sure if he should punish the baker, he thought he'd question her first.

"Hm. I remember the Judge. I don't like him. I remember most the people I do things for. The ones that pay high anyway...oh and I remember Nellie. Wonder where she went..."

She trailed off. "Um, isn't Nellie the baker on Fleet Street?" Lucy almost laughed. "No." She spat at him. "That's the devil's wife."

"So your saying that Nellie's the devil's wife?" He asked her. "No, bastard. Nellie's somewhere far from here with her lover boy Benny. I remember them from school!"

She thought she had it all cleared in her mind. "Don't talk about Nell like that. I don't like it. Let's not talk about her. I feel guilty because I didn't protect him." She said and walked away.

Right. Lucy and Nellie were the best of friends in school. Benny's life was Nellie. He breathed her, he thought about her, he dreamed about her. He was her everything. Nellie's parents said no to Benny.

Nellie cried. Told Lucy to take care of him. Faster than ever, Benny fell for Lucy. Loved her so much. While Lucy looked at it almost as a favor for her best friend.

Ouch. That hurt to think about. He had wandered back to the bakery, where Mrs. Lovett stood chopping something up.

"You back?" She said looking at him through the corner of her eye. "Why'd you lie to me Mrs. Lovett?" His voice sounded strained.

"You saw her didn't you? She doesn't remember you. She doesn't remember me. She doesn't remember anything. I didn't want you to see who she became."

He took her answer under consideration. Even so, be backed her up onto the wall and held his razor to her throat.

He moved it back a bit so that if a sudden thought hit him, he wouldn't accidentally kill her. "No." He said to himself more than to her.

"No what love?" She asked looking extremely confused. "No. She remembers you. Who you used to be. Doesn't remember Benny." He said.

She tilted her head to get a better look at him. "What does she remember?" She asked. "She remembers Benny kind of. She remembers him and Nellie."

"She remembers that Nellie was her best friend. She remembers the most important things in her life. Or that were in her life." He whispered.

"You were very important to her." She said. "Yeah. She was supposed to make sure I didn't go anywhere." He responded, rather sarcastically.

"She poisoned herself for you love." She stated as a matter of factly. "No. You're all mixed up Mrs. Lovett. Just like she is." He sighed.

"She poisoned herself, in a technical way for you and the Judge. 'Course the judge raped her. She couldn't take it. She felt guilty that she had let you down."

True. Those were the two reasons. Mrs. Lovett didn't want to believe it. Sweeney didn't either, but he knew it was true.

"Yah think I don't feel guilty about her being out there?" She asked him. Wondering to herself if he was really even paying attention.

She didn't care if he wasn't. She'd talk anwway. She did it all the time. "Part of the reason she's out three is because of me, you fool!" She shouted at him.

"You silly, stuid, insane, naive woman!" So he had been listening. "She's out there because of herself. She's out there because she poisoned HERSELF. You didn't poison her."

She backed up a little bit, falling into one of her booths. "But I could of stopped her. I could of tried harder! If she wasn't such a good friend...she would have been happily married."

She began to ramble. "There's a lot of if's Mrs.Lovett. If you recall, if your parents weren't such pricks we woulda been married with beautiful kids."

She looked shocked. "If she wasn't raped, she would have waited. Mrs.Lovett what exactly happenned with Lucy. Like that day?" He spoke directly to her.

"She was sitting on the couch in the parlor. She had handed me Johanna and was muttering sorry to me. I told her to stop and none of it was her fault."

"She started crying about the judge. I told her I hated him too. She decided that all our fates were messed up because of him. Johanna started crying. I walked out of the room to go get her a blanket."

"When I came back, Lucy was gripping a fucking bottle of shit with arsenic in it. She started wailing I'm sorry. I'm sorry...over and over again. I told her that she could stay here."

"Why didn't she?" Sweeney interupted. "Well, she wasn't there in the morning when I got up, and she still looked like herself, so the judge figured I must of had her child."

Mrs. Lovett's eyes began tearing up. "That part's my fault. I left her in a booth while I was getting her something to toy with, because she was pulling on my customers' hair...it wasn't working out."

"The judge. He kidnapped her." Mrs.Lovett nodded. "I know. It's my fault. I should of kept my eyes on her. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." "Quiet." Mr. Todd barked. "It's not your fault. Stop blaming yourself."

"Yeah I know I know. If Johanna hadn't cried at that moment. If the Judge was never born. If it wasn't cold in your parlor. If the aresnic had been hidden." He went on and on.

"The last thing I need is for you to join her out there. She's fine how she is. She don't want her best friend back." He told her sternly.

"You're right Mr. T, I gotta stop playing the 'if' game." She mumbled. "Before we end it, I want the last 'if'" He said. She tilted her head to look at him.

"If I had kept my promise, we wouldn't be in this mess." He sounded angry, not at her but at himself. He sounded as if he wanted to beat himself up.

She was wondering what in the world he was talking about, thinking that he must be angry at her. An angry Mr. Todd equaled a very scary Mr.Todd..

"Are yah mad at me Mr. T? Cuz you got perfect reason to be." She said. He grunted. "Not mad. Confused. A little angry. Not too bad." He plopped down in a near by booth.

"It's just...the memory of her, you know? It's like a voice telling me that she hasn't changed. I can't see that she's not herself anymore...it's just I can't see that. I only see what she used to be."

He inhaled deeply. "Ah. I don't quite understand, but one wouldn't expect me to." Mrs. Lovett said back. "I'm stuck. Stuck living in the past...I live in the fucking past!" He whisper yelled.

"It's like my memory's a voice. Jesus, I can't forget it. It keeps coming back. It doesn't want to leave. It fricken' haunts me. When I work, and then when I sleep!" He sounded angered now.

She was thinking to herself. Possibly about the promise he was talking about earlier. Possibly about something else. But either way she was cleraly deep in thought.

"Don't we all?" She asked slightly out of it. "Don't we all what?" He asked curiously. "We all live in the past. You think your the only one? I think not, Benny." She stood and walked away quietly.

He looked stunned. His mouth dropped open, and his eyes got big and wide. He was turned even paler; like that memory of his had come to life.

That night, sleep was harder than the others. The fact that Lucy didn't care about him enough to keep him in her subconscious made him angry. The voice. It was haunting him. Coming to life.

He tossed and turned. He closed his eyes and began to remember what exactly Lucy was talking about. How come he couldn't love her now?

He loved her more than life then. And now that he was back, she returned those same feelings. He knew that Lucy was a favor, but fell of her anyways.

But when he fell, there was nobody there to catch him. He remembered snow. Not from today, but from years and years ago.

The white flakes blanketing the school grounds. The vines that adorned the school building sprinkled with dandruff.

A boy with chocolate brown hair and a girl with auburn curls the color of the start of a new school year sat underneath a tree.

She threw a snowball at him. He threw one back. "Snow's pretty isn't it?" He asked her, busy gazing at the falling snowflakes.

"Yes. Gorgeous." She responded in awe. "But not as pretty as you..." He stated boldly. "Yeah it is." She said back. "No. Nothing prettier than Nell." He made sure she knew.

"Your the sweetest thing ever." She said. The fell into a brief silence. "They ain't gunna let me have you." She said tearing up.

"Who's they?" The boy asked her softly. "Parents." She muttered. "Yah never know love. Miracles happen."

She sobbed lightly. He patted her back and whispered in her ear. "Then we'll run away, get on a ship and go to America. I hear it's nice-ish there. Though my parents don't like 'em." He laughed.

"Promise?" She said. "Promise." He said back sternly. She seemed satisfied with this and giggled. Crawling over to the back of the tree.

"What in heaven's name are you doing mad woman?" She slipped out a pocket knife from her sleeve. She looked the tree up and down.

"Knives are against school rules." He rolled his eyes and told her sarcastically. "Since when do I follow the rules?" She smiled at him.

She picked a spot, and began carving in serious concentration. Her tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth, her eyes focused.

A couple minutes of the boy playing with the fallen snow, she shouts "finished!" And stuck the knife back up her sleeve, and then stepped back to admire her work.

"Voila! You like?" She asked. On the brown of the tree bark, it read Nellie+Benny Forever. He laughed, "Yeah. They'll 'member us forever."

Sweeney awoke from his thoughts. He wasn't sure if he had just spaced out or actually fell asleep. He shifted uncomfortably.

His head was throbbing for some strange reason. He didn't feel all that great. Or look all that great right now either.

He made his way downstairs to the pie-shop, entering quietly hoping Mrs. Lovett hadn't noticed. Toby certainly had not because he had passed out on gin.

Sweeney passed through the parlor. Careful not to knock anything down. Or hit anything. Or step on something strange.

He slowly twisted the knob to Mrs. Lovett's bedroom. A dim light flooding the room dark as the darkest midnight.

He tip-toed over to her. She was in kind of a strange position. She gripped the blanket tightly, her eyes were glued shut, and she was curled up into a small ball.

He looked at her for a moment. Her curls falling down on her shoulders. Her milky white skin glowing in the little light there was.

She stirred a bit. He backed up, hoping that he hadn't woken her up. He made sure that nobody else was up before kneeling down beside her bedside.

"I ain't so good a keeping promises. I know." He said to the sleeping figure. "Tonight." He began to tell her, "I let the voices talk to me. Tomorrow, I'll let them take control."

He wasn't sure what he was saying. But she was asleep, so nor was she. He walked out of the room quietly, leaving her dreaming about the seaside.

The morning came faster than ever. It was still quite early, so not much light was showing. The falling snow had come to stop, leaving the streets covered.

The streets would likely remain like this for the rest of the day. Nobody went out in this weather really. Nobody on Fleet Street anyway.

Mr. Todd wandered outside, knowing exactly where he was headed. The familiar root he took a very long time ago had not faded from his mind.

He took sharp turns, and walked through a short cut, reaching the building with the vines. It was silent, because it was only morning, but he knew that minutes later it would be filled with screaming children.

He stumbled clumsily over to the big oak tree; sitting in the snow like it had been many years ago. "Sir? What are you doing here?" A voice shouted to him.

His first thought was that it was a school official, but instead he saw the sailor boy, inspecting him closely for an answer. "I should be asking you the same thing, boy." Mr. Todd responded rather coldly.

"I heard that this was the best school in London. Wanted to get a feel for it myself." Anthony hesitated. Mr. Todd didn't seem to be listening.

He looked dazed as he ran his fingers along the old tree. Tracing the mark that Nellie had made. "Sir, what's wrong?" Anthony asked.

"Memories. They haunt me." Sweeney responded, tracing the letters again and again. Letting his memory swallow him up, and let himself suffocate in HIS guilt.

He knew that things would change. Not all at once. No it couldn't happen. He wanted to believe that there was hope, that he could rebuild his life that he could still keep her promises.

For he was never good at keeping promises. The promises that were never kept. And the future that was planned, but never happened.

The past was a place that he'd much rather live than now. It was hard to remember exactly how each day had felt, but it was even harder to forget.

He let the **voices** whisper fragments of conversation into his head. Let the **words** seep into his brain. Let the** laughter **suck him into an entirely different world.

A world where he could let her** beauty** swallow him whole. Let her little songs of **wisdom** melt into him.

A world were he **could make promises**, and pretend, **just pretend that he could keep them. **

_**Fin. **_

**End note: Please be kind and review. No Flames though. Flames Stress. Stress F. F More Stress. More Stress Bad Ballet. Bad Ballet Yell, yell, yell. Yell, Yell, Yell even more stress. Even more stress more F's. Kinda get my picture?**


	3. Life Is Beautiful

Life is beautiful

**Life is Beautiful**

_**Authors Note: Song is by Vega4 Life is Beautiful. The song is in Bold italics. Sweeney Todd does not belong to me. Nor does Vega4. The plot does. And the little poem/song thing at the end does. Sweeny's a little OOC Leave a Review. They make me happy. It doesn't take that long. Just hit the little button and then say something short. Then hit submit and it'll make my day. Simplicity is a must. And reviews are too. Thank you. **_

_**Life is beautiful  
We live until we die **_

It's a beautiful thing. If you're trapped in a globe of perfection. An over rated, nasty, cruel thing that can be rather cruel. Life. Thought it might be utterly one-hundred percent cruel, the thought of losing it, or having somebody lose it is a thought most people would rather not think about. **  
**_**  
When you run into my arms,  
We steal a perfect moment. **_

He didn't want to admit it, but when she smiled, it was his everything. Her eyes glistening, and her lafter seizing the moment. Even when Lucy was around, he'd come around to her bake shop everyday just to see that smile appear on her face as she said "here love. Made it special for ya." Her eyes would shine with pride, and my heart would melt at how fucking sweet she was.

**  
**_**Let the monsters see you smile,  
Let them see you smiling**_

Life is a beautiful thing. When it resides in the right person. She was sleeping on day. Her eyes closed tightly. He was watching her. Her heavy breathing, her hand in his. Her deep breathing suddenly became panting. ****

_**Do I hold you too tightly?  
When will the hurt kick in? **_

He didn't know what to do. She breathed faster and faster, until he was sure that she had lost her breath. He wanted to yell and scream. He knew he should get a doctor. He didn't. He watched her there. Barely making out a breath. ****

_**Life is beautiful, but it's complicated.  
We barely make it. **_

She's not breathing he concluded. He was scared. He knew he should have gotten a doctor faster. He held on tightly to her hand. Praying to himself that she'd make it. There was still time, perhaps the doctor could do something.

**  
**_**We don't need to understand,  
There are miracles, miracles.  
**_

Saving lives. That's what doctors are supposed to do. Really they don't "save" them they preserve them. He understood this. He didn't trust doctors much anway. Unless you paid them high, they didn't really put much effort into helping you.

**  
**_**Yeah, life is beautiful.  
Our hearts, they beat and break.  
**_

He couldn't lose her. He knew at times he hated her. No he didn't hate her he just disliked her with great passion. But other times he was greatful for her. Especially when she gave him that heart breaking smile. But what was a heart to break, when it was already broken?

**  
**_**When you run away from harm,  
Will you run back into my arms, **_

He could feel that her breathing was quickening. It was getting shorter and shorter. Perhaps Nellie would die of a broken heart. Perhaps death would just be a relief from the burden of the world. The doctor came in. Examined her and said there was nothing he could do about 'his wife.' how he put it anyway. It would take a miricale to save her. So he sat by her side. Hoped for a miricale. And talked to her, thinking she would never hear what he said anyway.

**  
**_**Like you did when you were young?  
Will you come back to me? **_

And so he began. "I miss you, Nellie. You know the Nellie I used to hold late at night. The Nellie I'd sing little tunes to. I miss you. The Nellie who baked fruit tarts and threw rocks at my window at midnight. The Nellie who always drank from Lucy's cup when she wasn't watching..." Even he had to admit that was funny. ****

_**I will hold you tightly  
When the hurting kicks in. **_

"I thought I'd have you forever. Maybe I will. Just maybe. I miss you Nell. The girl who would sneak into my bedroom through the balcony...ha, you would scale the walls faster than ever. My parents never knew. Yours didn't care. I remember the first time you did that, when you got in, my first question was what are you doing in here, and you looked at the dart board and said, 'I want to play darts tonight.' I miss you. Almost more than I miss Lucy, almost." **  
**_**  
Life is beautiful, but it's complicated,  
we barely make it. **_

Life is looked at as a much to complicated thing. Almost as complicated as death. We should all look at it as a child looks at it. They aren't afraid to die. For they believe that death is just the last part of life. Then they go somewhere even better. It ain't it big deal. "I miss you Nellie. And I'll miss you even more if you leave me. Don't go. I miss the Nellie who used to never give a damn about anything. You always said that some things in life are better left a wonder. Wonders live on forever. Trust me my love, are are one of those things."

**  
**_**We don't need to understand,  
There are miracles, miracles. **_

"Nell? Do ya hear me? I bet that you think I forgot all that. I didn't forget. I miss you my darling. I thought about you when I was in Australia. I thought about when Lucy would whisper something in your ear, and you'd both crack up. Sometimes I felt really left out of those conversations. You talked in french. I never did find out what you laughed about. Now maybe I won't. Please. I want to know."****

_**Stand where you are.  
We let all these moments pass us by. **_

We live off the past. Life. The past is the present. The present is the future. "Nell? Listen to me. 'Member when you used to sing those songs to me while we walked down the little boardwalk? What happenned there? Is it still as busy as ever? We used to sneak out there at night. Nobody but us...and the water...you used to sing little songs. I miss that ya know. I sang them to myself when I was sitting around in prison. But if you leave, nobody will sing them to me. Nobody. A little piece of heaven, Nell. All we ever wanted. You can't have it without me. Take me with you."****

_**It's amazing where I'm standing,  
There's alot that we can give. **_

"You pushed me off the swings once. And then this lady came by and said that what you did wasn't very lady like and then I told her that you were so much more lady like than a snob. My mum wasn't happy about that one. But you always had my back. I had you heart, you had my back. Not the best trade. I 'member the nights when you'd pretend that pirates were sailing in from the seas. The vast ships and the heavy ancors, coming to steal us away. I wouldn't let them take you then. I won't let them have you now.

**  
**_**This is ours just for the moment,  
There's alot that we can give. **_

We can give life. We can give love. We can give devotion. "Nellie. This life is ours. Yours. Mine. Benjamin's. Lucy's. It's theirs too, I guess. But this moment is ours. I miss you. I won't let them take you. This is the only way I know how to keep you. I can't save you. You're far from saving. Both of us really. I miss you Nell. If you come back we can go down by the docks, and we'll talk. and..."****

_**It's amazing where I'm standing,  
There's alot that we can give. **_

Her chocolate eyes fluttered open. Mr. T. The doctor heard her voice. "A bloody miricale." He exclaimed before leaving. He did nothing. He wasn't going to get paid. She sat up and smiled. She hugged him tightly, tears flowing from her eyes. "My angel." He whispered barlely loud enuogh for her to make out his words. "My goddess." He changed his words. Lucy was his angel. Gone. But she was here. Beautiful as ever. "Thought I'd lose you Nellie." He held her in his embrace. "I miss you." he whispered. Leaving her utterly confused.

**  
**_**This is ours just for the moment,  
There's alot that we can give. **_

Tears began to fall from his eyes. "Don't cry." She hushed him. "I ain't dead...yet." Sheadded a little saracastically at the end. "But how?" He managed to say. "Some things we're better off not knowin'" she said giving him a little smile. "if I don't hold you close, I'm afraid you'll disappear...Only heaven knows, love, why you are here." She sang to him the old song.

"Angels could take you away, faster than I can say oh love, my darling, please my love, please stay." He finished the verse for her. She looked surprised that he still remembered her little song about lovers. "Life is for the alive me dear, life is for the alive. Lie down when you're dead my dear; are we worth more dead or alive?" She finished, and fell into a soundless sleep. He kissed her cheek tenderly. "Alive. I say alive. I've missed you." He fell into the same sleep with her in his arms.

**Life is miracles. Little songs that last a lifetime. Lovers. Death. Memories. Life is for those who live it. And occasionally for those who miss it. For those who never forget.**

**Life is a destination all on its own. For those who make it. For those who don't. For those who dream of it. For those who live it without a care. Life can be be beautiful, if it resides in the right person. **

**Life is the moment we take to realize that every second you live is yours. It's also mine. It's ours. **


	4. Stand Where I Stood

Authors Note: I was listening to this song, and decided to make it a sweenett

_**Authors Note: I was listening to this song, and decided to make it a sweenett. Then I realized that it didn't fit benny, sweeney, nellie or johanna's pov. So I did something I never thought I'd do, and told the story from Lucy's pov. Enjoy. Review I'd love it. I'm having this random passion to do better writing cuz I'm coming back to CALI yusss I'm coming home! (Italics are Song: Where I stood by Missy Higgins.)I wouldn't love this if I was a Lovett lover…better for Lucy lover…kinda gives her…sympathy…it's like twisted so yuusz **_

_**Disclaimers: movies not mine. Songs not mine. Actors and actresses are not mine. Though I really do wish…do people actually ever sue? I don't want to be the one to know. **_

This is Where I Stand

Dear Diary,

The cold December air whipped down and across London. Emptiness filled the streets, and feeling of saddness hung in the air. Things were going to change for many of the people this next years to come. Surprises, things that you would never expect. Changes, for the better. For the worse. Things that come and go like seasons. In the back of my head, where my intuitions weave themselves into my conscience, I pretend that everything is gonna end up okay, or even possibly better than before.

Sincerley,

Lucy Barker.

_I dont know what i've done__  
__Or if i like what i've begun_

Dear Conscience,

I agreed to move in with the judge. Stupid plan. I know. But Benjamin's gone and I ain't a little fighter. I need someone to look after me, to watch for me. To fucking feed me, put me in a damn bed so I can sleep, put a roof over my head and all the shit I can't do for myself. It's not like he's going to come back. If he did, I am sure he'd understand what I did this for. Maybe he would.

Sincerley,

Mind.

_But something told me to run__  
__And honey you know me it's all or none_

Dear Intuition,

So this is my life. I stop in the middle of my packing, realizing that I am not my own person. With Benjamin, I was Benjamin's beautiful wife. Flattering, but not enough to complete a person. Nellie Lovett was her person. She lived without her husband, and managed to plaster a smile on her face for most the day. I sighed. I'd trade by beauty for happiness anyday. Would I? What am I leaving for? A better life.

Sincerley,

Thoughts.

_There were sounds in my head__  
__Little voices whispering_

Dear Journal,

Maybe he'll come back and find me gone and be upset. Maybe he'll never come back. I should move on, go on…find a glint of happiness in my life. But when I was with Benny, I was happy. Happy that I wasn't a crazy woman with no life. And happy I had a beautiful little daughter. Greatful. That's what I felt. I plopped down on the bed. Could the judge really give me a better life?

Sincerley,

Bride-to-be.

_That i should go and this should end__  
__Oh and i found my self listening_

Dear Me,

My head was spinning and everything was hurting. I was thinking too hard. I need to be my own person, and right now the only way I can think of doing that is marrying myself to the Judge. I'd have a life again. I could find myself, ya know? Reach in and grab a hold of whoever I am. I made it sound so easy, but I knew it wouldn't be. It would be a hard winter.

Sincerley,

Lucy Turpin.

_Cause i dont know who i am, who i am without you__  
__All i know is that i should_

Dear Reality,

You were right. The spring came quickly, and I was married to the Judge. Not as fun as I imagined…not as bad. He's barley ever home, so I basically spend my day figuring myself out and taking care of Johanna who is growing up already! But summers approaching, and I can feel the changing hair suffocating me. Drowning me in my guilts. Still, I didn't know what was going to happen, and what I was getting bubbled up about.

Sincereley,

Lucy's sub-conscience.

_And i dont know if i could stand another hand upon you__  
__All i know is that i should_

Dear Diary,

He's back. Benjamin. He's looking for me. Well, he WAS, and then he found me. Too late, I figured out that he was everything I was. Or more like I was everything he was. He came back and found me married to the bloody judge. He looked so mad. I think I just fucked up his life. Again.

Sincerley,

Lucy.

_Cause she will love you more then i could__  
__She who dares to stand where i stood_

Dear Anybody,

I told him that I had to move on. I needed somebody to support me. He took it as bullshit and walked away. I found him the next day while I was strolling through the market with me husband. He was talking to Mrs.Lovett. I knew they had been really good friends awhile ago. Figures they still are. Maybe even more…?

Sincerely,

Lucy's inner voice.

_See i thought love was black and white__  
__That it was wrong or it was right_

Dear Whoever it may concern,

He's already forgotten about me. I don't blame him though, must feel at least a little betrayed. Then how come I never felt like I betrayed him? Strange. Perhaps I just don't have guilty conscience. He drops by every once and awhile, leaves me a glare or two before continuing along to the market, pulling Nellie behind him. She rolled her eyes everytime he did this, but really didn't have a choice.

Sincerley,

Lucy's Shadow.

_But you ain't leaving without a fight __  
__And i think i am just as torn inside_

Dear Shadow,

Do you think he even cares anymore? The summer has just lept in, and I think he's showing up less and less. It's like he forgot about me. And the guilt is beginning to act up. The Judge is rarely ever here. I still can't figure out who I am. I don't want to belong to anybody. Nellie doesn't belong to anybody, and she does fine. Actually she seems pretty happy recently. Considering the fact that Benjamin's completley forgotten about me, and moved on.

Sincerley,

Who it concerned.

_Cause i dont know who i am, who i am without you__  
__All i know is that i should_

Dear Me, Myself and I,

I am a heart broken, no good wrench of a woman. I have decided that I have found myself. Maybe anyways. I've watched Nellie and Benjamin grow closer. They're together every moment. I talked to Nellie at the market today. Maybe I'm not that wrenched woman. We talked and she asked me, "are you going to let other people decide who you are for you?" And I came up with no. I will not. I will not let people tell me who I am.

Sincerley,

Determined little nit.

_And i dont know if i could stand another hand upon you__  
__All i know is that i should_

Dear Heart,

Maybe I've torn myself in half. She's standing where I stood before. Only happier. Better. She does love him, more than I could. She has his child. I have his other. So now I'm the heart broken girl. Maybe that's who I was destined to be. Will I ever get there? To Benjmain, I was nothing more than his beautiful wife that I would return to every evening. To the Judge, I was just his wife. Worth nothing more than that. Obviously, Nellie was worth more to Benny than I was.

Sincerely,

Lost Hope

_Cause she will love you more then i could__  
__She who dares to stand where i stood_

Dear Invisible Friend,

I have learned more than I could have in years and years of school these past several months. I have found that to Johanna, I am a mother. Something actually worth smiling about. But to me, I am still nobody, and blank easel ready to be painted on. All the colors of the palettes have not yet been created. But things are looking up they really are. And someday, my painting will span across the whole universe.

Sincereley,

Dreams.

_And I wont be far from where you are if ever you should call__  
__You meant more to me then any one i've ever loved at all_

_Dear Fate,_

_I am really beginning to think leads to another. A whole new place, a new door of discovery and realization. If Benny had not left me, I wouldn't be on this search. My fate is slipping from my fingertips. I don't want to be here anymore. I want to find myself and then leave once I've gotten what I have found. No one will miss me. _

_Sincerley,_

_ Lucy's Stupidity._

_But you taught me how to trust myself  
And so i say to you, this is what i have to do._

Dear Hope,

Come back. Please? They've sent Benjamin off again. The judge offered Nellie a place to stay in our home. But she denied it, she said she'd wait right here for him to come back. Course he probably wouldn't. Considering the judge's punishment was worse than this time. All the way in australia! Oi! But still, send him back. I hate to see anybody so hurt, even if it's somebody I don't really like.

Sincereley,

Faith.

_Cause i dont know who i am, who i am without you  
All i know is that i should_

Dear Inner-self,

I figured out that in the end it must be the journy that you take to discover yourself that is the important part. The pot of gold at the end of it is all the memories you have gathered. Frankly, I have none. Soon I will embark on this journy. A new life in a new land somewhere far away. I hope everything will turn out okay for everyone. I've already screwed up once. I am supposed to learn from my mistakes.

Sincerley,

Lucy's Voice.

_  
And i dont know if i could stand another hand upon you  
All i know is that i should_

Dear Diary,

Last entry. I've leaving. Everything, everybody. I am going to start a new life. New hope. I am leaving all the way to America. I could find a new husband, adopt a son or a daughter. Discover what my life and this life is really about. In reality, I'm ready to move on. Ready to piece myself back together. Learn to trust me, myself and I, versus just everybody else.

Sincerley,

Lucy.

_  
Cause she will love you more than i could  
She who dares to stand where i stood  
She who dares to stand where i stood._

Dear Happiness,

She will love him more than I could. She is his everything. His life. And the vice-versa. She stands where I once stood. Stronger. Braver. With hope everyday in her life. Her feet firmly planted on the ground, but her head high up in the clouds. She'll wait for him forever if it takes. She's ready for his return. Her devotion is forever. Something I didn't have. But she was her own person. And that was who she was. And I was about to find out who I could be. So I put on her brave face, and watched and walked away from the woman who was standing, where I once stood. A long time ago.

Sincereley,

New Life.


	5. Devil's Angel

His hands were tightened around her throat

**Authors Note: It's short. I know. But short and sweet y'know? If you could, please review. I'd be ever so grateful. Thank you very much...**

**-mylovimfaithfullyyours 3**

**Devil's Angel.**

His hands were tightened around her throat. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't scream. The lifeless body of the old beggar woman lie in the corner, just as dead as she was to Sweeney Todd. Mrs. Lovett gasped. Her air was being cut off...he's weak and dying.

She should be able to do something. But she's being killed. There's nothing she can do. She gasps. No air. No air. In a sudden thump she falls to the ground, hard and fast. Toby comes out, but it's all too late.

He screams. A scream loud enough to wake the entire sleeping city of London. The sound of footsteps rushing down the stairs, Sweeney stands hovering over Toby. With a slash of his razor ends his life. The kill was out of anger.

Or perhaps it was because the boy knew too much. But there wasn't enough time to think. His eyes missed the dead beggar woman and landed on the ground. At his feet and at the judge's fingertips was Mrs. Lovett. She laid their unconscious.

Her eyes shut tightly and her upper lip curled up into a small smile. He kicked the judge's body, and then carried her light body upstairs. Anthony stood there, Johanna at his side. The two watched as he gently set her body down on a table, and checked her pulse, only to feel nothing.

The boy asked what happened. Johanna hiding beside him. He let himself shed a single tear. He mumbled to himself, "Even when he's dying he's there to take away my life." And he thought to himself, twice. Twice.

He released the curls in her hair, letting them fall around her face. He thought about all the things that this woman did for him. All that he was going to thank her for after the judge was dead. But now the judge was dead, and so was she.

He wanted to say thank you, he wanted to say I love you; he wanted to tell her to never leave him. But it was too late. So instead he whispered, "My angel." and let cradled her body in his arms. He looked up at Johanna, and wondered silently if the daughter he never met was worth living for.

He didn't know, so he returned his eyes to her resting face. Her smile seeming so innocent. She seemed so innocent. "Nellie...my beautiful, beautiful angel." The Devil's angel. His angel. Sweeney Todd's angel. But angels were dead weren't they?

He traced her face with his thumb, and pressed her head to his chest. And so there she slept. The Devil's angel. Dead as the judge, dead as Lucy, dead as the sanity in Sweeney Todd. Maybe the Devil would join her. And he'd keep her by his side.

He'd keep her from the monsters that Hell possessed. Knowing this she smiled her innocent smile, because for her if that's what hell was Hell, it couldn't come fast enough.


	6. Ignorance

Disclaimer: None of it is mine

Disclaimer: None of it is mine. Not Sweeney. Not Mrs. Lovett. Not Johanna. The song is not mine. The song is Easier to Lie by Aqualung. Don't own the movie. Don't own the play. Don't own. Don't sue.

A/N: Lyrics to Easier to Lie is by Aqualung. The lyrics are in italics. **REVIEW PLEASE!!**

(Johanna's Point of View)

**To Overcome Your Ignorance**

_To bear the weight  
and push into the sky_

He plays with her loose strands of hair. Yet he says he doesn't care. He calls her beautiful, and his love, but he denies the fact that he even likes her.

_it's easier to lie_

**Heaven's a lie. **He tells her. He doesn't want to hurt her. He does anyway. But he doesn't realize** it hurts him too. **

_it's easier to lie_

She calms him, and takes care of him. But he claims he could live without her. He kisses her goodnight, but thinks it means nothing. He sweeps away her nightmares, and tells her everything's gunna be okay, when he knows he's the** problem. **

_And honestly_

There is no **honest**. The honesty within you was drowned long ago, and taken over by wishes and sadness of everything you **can't have.**

_to look you in the eye_

**Lies. All lies**. He'd cry if she died. He'd cry if he were alone. He'd kill the man who laid hands on her. I knew it. He knew it. He couldn't accept it.

_it's easier to lie  
it's easier to lie_

**Acceptance and denial**. I have learned are the two aspects that are a key to life. He sits in the corner mumbling curses under his breath about her. He still denies any affection toward her.

_To be the one  
to be the only one_

He knows she loves him. He watches her sleep at night. I should feel like I betrayed my father right now. But I don't. I don't feel an ounce of guilt. I almost feel like he's blind to his **igrnorance.**

_  
something has to give a lot  
something has to give a lot_

You see, it happenned like this in the bakehouse earlier. He was storming about something. And about to kill her with his devil razor. But I stood in front of her. And threw **curses** at him.

_And who am I  
to give you what you need_

He backed off a bit before spatting at me. "If you really love you father, you'd move aside and let me at her." I didn't move. And when I didn't, he dare asked me "**who do you love more?**"

_when I'm learning  
just learning  
Learning how to live and_

I said nothing to for a moment. Before finding my voice, just a hoarse whisper to say "back off, you touch her. And I. Will. Kill. You. **And have no guilt in it**."

_to bear the weight...  
and push into the sky_

He seemed utterly shocked, dropped his razor and walked to his corner, where he was sitting now. Head buried in his hands. Mum said I should let him calm. I nodded and walked slowly away.

_  
it's easier to lie  
it's easier to lie_

My father he was. But that didn't make him any less ignorant. Any less blind to the world. **Any stupider**. It didn't allow him to kill anybody. It didn't give him the right to do anything of the sort.

_  
And honestly  
to look you in the eye_

He cried. I scoffed. "A shell was all she was. Blind. Couldn't be more blind. Not to see who she was, but to see the reason behind this. Think about it." He watched as I walked away. **A strong girl I was after all those years. **

_  
it's easier to lie  
it's easier to lie_

He could lie to himself all he wanted. But somehow the truth was the come up somewhere. He hadn't been there to watch me talk. To watch me walk. To watch me go to school for the first time. But that wasn't his choice.

_  
To fill the space  
the space you made for me_

**So blind to love**. That's what I was looking for. The set of words that utterly described him. A naïve man he used to be, and naïve man he still is.

_  
try to be the one you want  
try to be the one you want_

I knew he loved her. Not like he loved Lucy…er…me mum. But differently. A love that came in many different forms.

_  
And maybe I  
could be the one you need_

I was little. But I remember Lucy telling me a story, before she went crazy. She'd sob and talk about if he was with Nellie, this would never happen. Then she'd curse her **beautiful **yellow hair for all that had happenned.

_  
if you'd only  
show me  
Show me how to live and_

Nellie would of ran after him. Nellie wouldn't of let him go like that. She'd mutter to herself more than to me. But I was **listening**. She held me close, as she stared out the window, waiting for the day to turn to night.

_how to bear the weight  
And push into the sky_

Mum, Mrs. Lovett, always told Mr. T, my father...that she poisoned herself because she loved him so much. But this wasn't true. She poisoned herself because she couldn't bare the world anymore. But Mum's **lying** version always made it much more romantic.

_  
it's easier to lie  
easier to lie_

I awoke from my thoughts to see him walking over to her. She backed off slightly. I stood on the small, worn balcony on this humid, **midsummer** night and gave her a knowing nod, resembling the fact that I had talked to him and was watching over her.

_And do what's right  
when everything is wrong_

She smiled at me. I could see she was thanking me. I snuck down to hear what they were saying. By the time I got downstairs, their foreheads were pressed together and they were speaking I a low murmur.

_  
it's easier to run_

I bet once London was a bright, beautiful place. I believe that something took over that. A cloud shadowing over head

_  
it's easier to_

**Life ain't easy**. I tell yah. Especially when you're impatient for the obvious love to happen. I looked up to see him place a small peck on her blood red lips. She **forgave** him so easily. So quickly. Oi. That's true love for sure.

_Never have  
to look you in the eye_

**Her eyes sparkled**. I moved away to give them the privacy they thought they had. My eyes glistened in the moonlight as I grinned, and tip-toed to the door, restraining a laugh.

_it's easier to lie_

I took one last glance as they stood in the street, illuminated by the gas lamps, swaying side to side. Both to their own tunes. **In their heads.** She placed a soft kiss on him lips. And he lightly kissed her forehead.

_  
it's easier to lie_

**Ignorant**. That he still was. **To love**. The humid air, the moon, the stars, and lies that hung over head. I smiled to myself, hoping he'd soon finally realize that **life** was indeed **Live. Laugh. Love. **And to many **lie**, to trick and protect themselves and others.

_and push into the sky_

I hoped he'd let the truth over-shadow the pathetic lies he told himself. **Lies**. All lies. Let himself find her **beauty**, her **warmth**, her **passion**, her **devotion**, her **love**.

_it's easier to lie_

Let themselves for just tonight, be ignorant to who they **are**. Ignorant to who they **were.** **Forgetting;** **the rest of the world**.

**Fin.**

_**End Note: Please Review. Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed it. **_


	7. Burn

Authors Note: Ya might not get it

_**Authors Note: Ya might not get it. It's not like totally clear. I wrote it on the bus while we were driving to Oxford. IT IS AN ALTERNATE ENDING (hint) See if you can figure it out. Enjoy. Review. Please. Please review and make my day. I'd love you forever and ever. Oh and BTW it is a SWEENETT. **_

**Burn**

Fire. Red flames that licked up the old beggar,

Saved Mrs. Lovett from her death.

Things were suppose to get better,

But they hadn't. Not yet. Not yet.

The flames red as her curls,

The fire in her eyes,

They are no longer little girls,

Life is for the alive.

In this monstrous world of rage,

It's only your life that counts.

The world sucked up into a hideous blaze,

No where to go, no way out.

A man stands glaring,

Next to the lady with wild hair,

They both seem to be staring,

However without a care.

The swirling black smoke,

The so called devil's cloud,

They wanna go home,

But it's gone, it's gone now.

The streets illuminated by gas lights,

Bystanders crowding near by,

What a horror, a dreadful sight,

The sounds of childrens' cries.

A candle knocked aside,

Started the massive flame,

He pushed in to its side,

To take away their pain.

The years that passed were gone,

And never coming back.

That emptiness shall not last long,

He tells her to relax.

But it's impossible to release your tension,

In this heap of pain and grief,

The overwhelming sensation,

Simply can not be released.

The place they know so well,

The things they did inside,

Some suspected the place was hell,

A place where the innocent died.

Little did they know?

That it was once not at all the same,

That just goes to show,

Those things can dramatically change.

The things that people are put through,

The destruction in their minds,

The evils that people will turn to,

Make our universe blind.

The shouts of men everywhere,

Telling people to part,

Some of them still stand and stare,

The flames melting up their hearts.

The man pulled the lady towards him,

Walking further and further away,

Taking her from the scene so grim,

Away from the scorching flames.

She glanced back one more time,

At what her whole life used to be,

At all the laughter, love and crime,

That exploded in the scene.

She cried and sobbed as she fled,

From the scene so dark and grey,

He embraced her tightly as he ran and said,

"**To burn your memories away." **

_**FIN**_


	8. SuperHero

Superhero

**Superhero**

Her red curls the fire,

The wild untamed flames.

Her eyes the fury,

When she proved you wrong.

The smile when you shake your head

in disappointment.

I watch her when she works,

Though she thinks I'm brooding away.

Her swift pace,

And orders,

Spread a smile on my face.

Sometimes she catches me,

and she sends a wink my way.

Before returning to her duty,

"Serving" the citizens

of London.

I can almost see the red cape on her now,

flying,

swishing around the world,

in a matter of seconds.

When she's not doing her job,

She takes her time to rest

her superpowers.

Sometimes I visit her then,

Though she doesn't know it.

I drop a kiss or two,

for ever superhero

Needs one once in awhile.

She sings a merry tune

To herself when she's baking.

Her voice a power strong enough

To make you smile.

Sometimes she concentrates

Very, very hard on something.

So hard, that I swear the thing will crack.

When she has a child around,

She spoils him.

Her powers a motherly love.

When it's just me and her...

We laugh until there's nothing to laugh at,

until we laugh at nothing.

And then we laugh at nothing.

She rescued me from my past,

brought me back to the present.

To you she may just be

a normal, pretty girl,

But to me she's my savior,

My beautiful,

**wonder woman.**


	9. Wine Tasting

Wine Tasting

**Wine Tasting**

Wine; was supposed to clear your thoughts. In reality, it doesn't really _clear_ them just moves them out of your brain for awhile.

Maybe it's more clensing than clearning...or purifying...or...well there were millions of ways to describe it other than..._clearing_.

Sweeney sighed as he swished the reddish purple liquid around in his glass, before bringing it to his lips.

The sticky sweet taste lingering on his tongue before turning extremely, extremely bitter.

There'd been a lot on his mind lately, including the judge and Johanna...and occasionally Lucy. Mrs. Lovett was also somewhere in there.

He wasn't sure what it was...but he needed it to go away...the feeling that is. That woman was spoiling his revenge. So to speak.

He smacked his lips together, trying to rid the unpleasent taste all together. But it wasn't as easy as it seemed.

_A few months later..._

The wine was bittersweet. With an absolutly dreaadful aftertaste that made you regret drinking it. Again, many thoughts were rading his mind lately.

Johanna was supposed to be kidnapped by Anthony. He didn't know he he'd pull through with itl yet.

If that sailor boy didn't succeed there would be many complications. And many more killings.

He raised the glass up again, drowning his thoughts with the taste...the aftertaste reminding him of his life.

_A few weeks later..._

Anthony has Johanna. The sailor's out looking for a coach. Johanna is with Mrs. Lovett in the parlor, it seems as if they have an invisible bonding.

Sweeney sits silently in one of the booths. Sipping wine. Again. This time the sickeningly sweet taste fillis his mouth.

He swallows it. The aftertaste reminding him much of blood, as does the color of the thick substance in his cup.

He watches as Anthony bursts in, in a hurry to get Johanna and leave without ever being here.

He calls for Johanna, and says to Sweeney, "forever in your debt, sir." Though he says it quite excitedly.

All Sweeney does is nod, before proceeding to take another sip, cringing at the sweetness of it. Soon enough, Mrs. Lovett wanders out with Johanna.

She embraces the young girl, gives her a kiss on the cheek, and wishes her goodluck. Johanna smiles and waves, and says to keep in contact.

Mrs. Lovett looks over at the barber, but he makes no note of it. He simply nods at Anthony, and silently sends them on their merry way.

_A few weeks later..._

Covered in blood, and not making any effort into changing, Sweeney Todd sits in his barber chair, with a glass in his hand.

The substance this time is bitter and thin. Easily sliding down his throat, he takes small sips instead of the big gulps that the boy would take if he had wine.

The Judge was dead. As was the Beadle. The two lying out in the bakehouse with the annoying beggar woman.

Mrs. Lovett decided taht she wasn't going to cook them, instead she was just going to burn them. And she probably was doing that, at this moment.

He decided he would check on her later. He hadn't cleared his thoughts enough, and besides there was no hurry.

_Two months later..._

He didn't remember why he was still around. His purpose was the kill the judge, but he had nothing planned after that.

Drinking was certainly not on the list. He sat silently in the chair in the parlor, careful not to spill on any of the furniture as he sipped the drink.

The disgusting taste caused him to make a face, as he threatened to spit it out, but managed to force himself the swallow. He didn't dare take another sip.

He let his thoughts run through his head, including the ones about living by the sea...and being a proper family.

_Exactly Sixteen days Later... _

He sat atop her bed, balancing the glass between his fingers. Mrs. Lovett lie sleeping under the covers snuggled up close to him.

Her naked form, made drinking the unusual tasting wine a little easier. He set the glass down, brushed a piece of stray hair out of her pale face.

She looked same damn innocent in her sleeping form, and like a goddess with her pale skin and auburn hair.

He scooted down to lie beside her, stroking her cheek lovingly. She was making moving on a lot easier. Or perhaps it was the wine.

Either way, properity was no longer in the question. The sense of being pure somehow still hovered over her, after all that she's done with questionable legality.

He kissed her cheek, pulled her close to him, and fell asleep dreaming of nothing, thinking of nothing. Perhaps the wine was doing it's job,

_A week later..._

Just because he slept with her didn't mean he loved her. Or did it? He didn't even have to like her. Though he did...

This was the perfect time to try the wine that she bought home. The taste was a mix between cherries and grapes...the grapes, okay, but cherries?

The thing about this one was it was strangly addicting...just like her body...and her touch...and her voice...

He drank again, a huge gulp, trying to rid the thoughts. But it didn't work. They returned to haunt him. He needed to see her...and touch her...

He growled as he set his glass down with a loud thump on the counter, before proceeding to the bakehouse where she worked, scrubbing the floors.

He watched for awhile, letting her lips enchant him, before her voice brought him back into reality.

"Hello, beautiful..." He mumbled as he wrapped his arms around her thin waist. The wine clear in his breath.

"Is that the one I bought yesterday?" She questioned him...referring to the drink. He simply nodded innocently, before catching her lips.

Maybe love was somewhere in there...mixed in with the wine...and the years that went by.

_Two months later..._

So she's pregnant. Boom. Outcomes the bottle, propped up on the table...begging for him to come pour the liquid out.

She tells him this, not waiting for his reaction, and leaves. He automatically, finds himself in the kitchen...with a bottle of wine waiting for him.

He willingly pours it out...the color reminding him of her hair...the after-taste of the night before.

He ponders over whether or not to keep the child...and his own feelings on this sudden...tradgedy? Surprise? It was overall impossible to describe.

However, the more he drinks, the more he accepts the idea, and by the time the nutmeg tasting drink was half done, he had grown to like the situation.

Maybe once the child was born...they could forget about this life...and move on to live a new one.

A proper one...and maybe even by the sea... "Oh gosh..." he thinks...with a smirk. "It's either the wine...or her...it's poisoning me..."

But deep down inside he knows that it's not the wine...but he's grown to love this woman.

_Half a Year and a month later..._

Boxes lay randomly scattered around the house. They decided that they'd get new furniture once they moved in...they had enough money.

Most of the boxes were filled with clothes...and things like books...but the razors were to stay with him all times. He trusted nobody with them.

He sat in one of the booths, as he kept a watchful eye on his wife, Nellie who was standing outside, giving friends her new address.

He bounced his baby on her hip, as she recived a kiss on both cheeks, and a hug. The little girl wailed, so Nellie waved, and walked inside.

"Will you talk Abigale out of my hands for a bit, love." He nodded, taking the brunette girl out of her hands, as Abi curled her little finger around his pinky.

He kissed her forehead. The brief image of Johanna pushed it's way into his mind...but the vanished quickly.

_Fifteen minutes later..._

His wife returned and sat down next to him. She set down a dusty bottle on the table, and two glasses, and gave him a smile.

He leaned in and kissed her temple. "I love you..." He smiled, and gave her a peck on the cheek. "And I you..." She returned, kissing the babies fingertips.

He poured each of them half a glass. Abigale attempted to knock one of the glasses over, but her mother shook a finger at her no.

The little girl pouted and pulled her hand back, presenting her parents with her own gummy smile.

They both brought the glasses to their lips and took a sip...the wine was bitter at first, but the aftertaste was sweet. "How come this feels like de ja vu..." He said.

She gave him a smirk, before saying "so..." she puased taking Abigale from him. "Out of all the wines you tasted, which was you favorite?" She asked randomly.

"Why?" He asked back. She rolled her eyes and shrugged, "I'll tell you, once you answer my question." He thought about it for a moment.

He couldn't remember everything that he'd ever drank...but this one was so much better than the rest. "This one." He stated to her.

"Really?" She asked. He nodded. "They say...the wine that you love best, reflects your life the most." She gave him a wink.

She stood up, and carried Abi off, cooing to her as she walked, "we gotta a big day tomorrow!" Sweeney chuckled.

What babies did to woman was a mystery. But then again, what wine did to him was a mystery too.

_One minute later..._

He inspected the bottle in silence, while taking another huge gulp of his favorite wine. He realized that this was the same wine he had a couple years ago.

The first time he had sat down here to try to _clear_ his mind...when the judge was driving him insane...and his desire for Lucy still fresh on his mind.

"But it was bitter than...really bitter, just like my life...it was...unpleasent. How come it tasted so different?' he thought to himself.

He raised a brow, as he took another sip. Bittersweet and strange...and when it hit the sweetness he thought "oh goodness things certainly can change."

And again, he wasn't sure if it was the wine...or him...or just life in general. But isn't change supposed to be good?

He took another sip and in his mind concluded...change is good...and wine tasting is _very_ addicting.


End file.
